Wheat Kings anxious to drop the puck

After nearly three weeks of practice, the Brandon Wheat Kings are ready to get back to business.

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The Wheat Kings were eliminated from the WHL playoffs by the Calgary Hitmen on April 23 but they get a second chance at winning the national championship when they host the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup starting this week.

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The Wheat Kings will play the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires in the tournament opener on Friday (8:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet and the NHL Network US).

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“We’re ready,” said Wheat Kings co-captain Brayden Schenn. “It’s almost like a second chance. Not many teams get that chance to play for the Memorial Cup in their home town. We’re excited and we’re looking forward to it.”

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The team has spent the past three weeks getting ready for the tournament, which will include a rematch with the Hitmen in the final round robin game on Wednesday. They will also play the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats on Sunday.

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Wheat Kings’ GM/coach Kelly McCrimmon said that his group is ready to get back into game action.

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“There will be butterflies I’m sure in the stomachs of our players,” McCrimmon said. “Fans are anxious to get the tournament started and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun. It’s been almost three weeks between games for our team. Some of the other teams that are here, Windsor and Calgary, have had lengthy layoffs as well. I’m sure they are anxious to get going so you can imagine in our case it’s even that much more so.”

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The Wheat Kings’ players admit that they have had enough time to think about the tournament and can’t wait to drop the puck and play again for real on Friday.

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“We’ve been doing a lot of one-on-one drills and trying to keep in game form,” said forward Aaron Lewadniuk. “We just have to go in on the first shift and get our legs. We’re really excited to get going.

We’ve been working hard all week and we just can’t wait to get into a real game.

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“We get to play at home here and the crowd will be behind us. It’s going to be really noisy. All week long the town has been behind us. It’s been great.”

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Wheat Kings’ fans are also looking forward to getting back into the building to cheer on the team.

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“There’s a pretty good hockey fever in town,” Schenn said. “People seem excited and I don’t think they can wait for tomorrow either.”

Photo by Aaron Bell/CHL Images